February 26, 2008

Setting the Mood of Your Event

In tandem with choosing a color scheme, it behooves you to define your MOOD. A mood is not a theme. A theme is a guiding image, like “Underwater” or “Fourth of July.” A mood is a series of adjectives and describing words that sum up your vision of your day. Having a mood can change your color scheme. For instance, it would be difficult to pull off a blue-orange color scheme with a “romantic” mood (though possible). If you find your ideal mood clashes with the color scheme you have chosen, you’ll need to choose which one is more important to you.

This happened to me. I had some pretty bright colors in mind. I spoke the words “romantic, soft, victorian” and then I even went out and bought ribbon and paint in colors that would match this mood. I looked into light, lacey bridesmaid dresses in rose and violet. I was moving right along and yet all the while there was this color of blue STUCK in my head. Every time I saw it -once on an album color, once on a pull and once on the scarf I found, bought and am wearing as I write this – I would scream and grab Mr. M’s arm shouting “That’s it!! That’s my color.”

What was I thinking!? I had already picked the colors and the mood and this blue does not go with them at all. It would be like putting oreos in your tea. So what happened? One night I was online and I stumbled upon a line of dresses made in the very same blue I stalk: I promptly threw out the entire “romantic” mood. Within seconds I had pulled out all the photos of ramanticy, lacey dresses and trashed them. Out went the peach and cream bouquet. I wrote a letter to my mom saying: “You know that wreath we made? Be prepared to change the ribbons!”

Choosing a mood is a great exercise if you pinpoint the exact words to define it. When you have the words, write them down clearly and tuck them into your file. You can now use these words to direct and give clues to your hair stylist, florist, makeup artist and photographer. Trust me, they will appreciate that you can articulate what you want to see. It makes their job easier, and ultimately then makes the final product look better.